The improved fire grate for enhanced combustion relates to an apparatus for improving efficiency of a fireplace in relation to reduction in harmful emissions and/or heating a room.
A fireplace is a structure to contain a fire for heating. The fire is contained within a firebox which defines a combustion chamber. A chimney or other flue directs combustion gas to the environment. Studies have shown that fireplaces produce a significant amount of emissions (e.g., particulate, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, etc.) that is harmful to humans and the environment. These harmful emissions rise up with the combustion gas and escape through the chimney to the environment.
There are three time honored principles to good combustion. They relate to time, temperature and turbulence. Time is residence time or the amount of time combustion gas remains within the combustion chamber. The longer the combustion gas stays within the combustion chamber, the more complete the combustion process and harmful emissions are reduced. Temperature relates to the temperature within the combustion chamber. The higher the temperature, the better and efficient the burn. As such, there are less harmful emissions. Turbulence relates to the amount of air mixing occurring within the combustion chamber. During operation of the fireplace, the biomass/fuel being burned consumes oxygen in the surrounding area. Fresh air is introduced into the combustion chamber through the fireplace opening. Stratified columns of fresh oxygen rich air rise up in the combustion chamber along side the starved combustion gases. The harmful emissions contained within the oxygen starved combustion gases do not come into contact with the oxygen rich air. Turbulence promotes mixing of the stratified layers or columns of fresh oxygen rich air with the oxygen starved air to encourage a cleaner burn and reduce harmful emissions.
The biomass/fuel being burned produces harmful emissions because the residence time of the combustion gas in the combustion chamber may be too short to allow the biomass/fuel to completely combust. Additionally, the biomass/fuel being burned may not completely combust because the temperature within the combustion chamber may be too low. Moreover, during the combustion process of the biomass/fuel, oxygen in the surrounding area of the biomass/fuel is consumed thereby producing oxygen starved combustion gases. These oxygen starved combustion gases rise, containing the harmful emissions, up through the combustion chamber into the chimney and out into the environment in a vertical column.